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Cœur Du Voleur
Cœur Du Voleur: Ethrykk's Confession is a Short Story supplement to ''Fog: Korym's Annals'' of the Early Sunsets Arc by BZPower and C.I.R.C.L.E. member Cap'n K. Cœur Du Voleur: Ethrykk's Confession We ravaged them, pillaged them, destroyed their structures, and raped their lands. We killed the race as a whole, banished them from the universe for all eternity and I have no doubt in my mind that they are all dead. We heard their whispering voices sometimes, heard the echoing sounds in the wind that signified their presence. They begged for mercy, and we granted them none. They called themselves the Idenka. We couldn’t see them, or touch them, or hear them clearly for that matter, but we knew they were there. In our desperate attempt to flee the war-torn land of Zakaz, we became the very monsters we wished to escape. We killed the Idenka, we killed all of them, and the only proof that they ever existed is the charred ashes of their invisible bodies spread about the black sand on the western shore of Korlok. Turns out, you could touch them when you burned them beyond recognition. We named the island after our leader, but we knew that the island already had a name: "Stor Nui". The Idenka had named their home after their leader as well. But, as all things do in time, the Idenka were erased from time and from our memories, and shall never walk the universe again. We colonized Korlok, covered it in our smoke-belching factories that constructed monstrous weapons of battle, war, and torture. We kept slaves and mistreated Rahi there, and eventually we made our way down to a state far worse than the Skakdi of Zakaz. We had broken away from our source, but gone below them. I was disgusted by the Korlok Skakdi as a whole. So I took action. Knowing well that Korlok, now the “''emperor''” of the island, was severely corrupt, I lined my lips with a deadly poison... it was a foolproof method of assassination. Oh, Korlok had a very interesting night indeed. The Skakdi of Fire never took another breath again. After that, I left the island, still disgusted by the ways of the Skakdi. Someone else declared himself emperor, and I didn’t feel like playing kill-the-king anymore. I took off in the most regal of the regal boats, stolen of course, and made my way to the Northern Continent. Here, I spent months stealing jewels to admire their colors and forms, and then selling them in order to stay alive. I eventually grew bored of the continent, though, and migrated to the Mainland. Here, I spent a few more years. Bored, as always. Life seemed to be a jewel itself... colorful, clear, precise... but also predictable. I thought it would be like that forever. And it was, until I met Korym. My story didn’t really start on the island of Korlok... nor did it start on Zakaz, or anywhere else. I was born on the Mainland, long after I killed the emperor with my beauty. There was a village. It was called Valrah-Koro by its' inhabitants; I called it "Middle of Nowhere". It was in the center of a vast and barren desert, and the village was filled with bumbling fools called Matoran. There was one thing I did wish to have in the village, though. It was called the Head of Aritus, and it was the only good thing that had ever come from the village. Wherever they got the ruby Protodermis, I will never know. But one Matoran in the Koro crafted it into the very form of the legendary Toa Aritus’ Kaukau. It was allegedly one of the most beautiful statuettes ever crafted, and I just needed to see it. It didn’t take me a long time to find the home of Valrah-Koro’s leader, a foolish Matoran named Arkeus. The hut was crafted more masterfully than all the others, and stood several feet taller. Ornate marble statues stood on each side of the structure’s door... or lack thereof. Matoran were so trusting, building their structures without doors. It was so easy to rob them widgetless. I slipped through the hole where the door should be, and it was right there on the back shelf. The Head of Aritus. I’d have thought that Arkeus would have at least put a bit of effort in protecting it. Apparently he trusted everybody. I laughed aloud at his stupidity. Then I heard a voice. “Here, come inside.” Arkeus. Well, I could easily overpower him. But causing Matoran to get angry was just a bother. Watching their ugly little faces contort made me sick. I looked around quickly, and managed to duck behind a shelf that stood upright. Just in time. The Matoran entered the hut, followed by a Toa in black and green armor who had to duck through the door. The Toa actually interested me a bit. I don’t know what it was that pulled my eyes to him... maybe it was the strange green markings that swirled across his armor, or his bright green eyes, or even the sense of knowing his soul was somehow troubled, just like mine. Anyway, I knew then that the Toa — whoever he was — was important to me somehow. I shunned the thoughts from my head quickly, realizing just how foolish I was being. It was a Toa. How could a Toa be important to me? There was another emotion I felt, too, but I didn’t even dare to consider what it was. Something was happening, and I now admit that I was afraid to think about it. “Only in legends. Valrah-Nui probably doesn’t exist, Toa Onuka Korym,” said Arkeus. So his name is Korym? I thought. “I’ve been to Valrah-Nui myself, Arkeus. I know it exists. It’s what gave me Toa Powers. My only problem is finding it again,” said Toa Korym. I managed to snap my gaze away from Korym. There was a task I needed to accomplish. The Head of Aritus. I wouldn’t be bothered by a foolish Matoran or a mysterious Toa. Bracing myself, I focused the energy in my body into my bent knees and sprung out from my hiding place, snatching the Head up with my tail and flying headfirst out the window opposite me. I performed an aerial somersault, and landed lithely on my feet. I glanced back through the window, and noticed that both the Toa and Matoran were looking around the room in puzzlement. It was time to get out. I was about to turn, when Korym’s gaze locked upon mine. The Toa jumped a bit in place, as if startled by my presence. He stared at me for a moment, seemingly observing the contours of my face and the shape of my eyes. I was somewhat shocked that Korym saw me. In that moment, in that split-second of time, something inside of me seemed to scream and I realized at once that the Toa couldn’t be ignored. But why not? Why was Korym causing such upset to my system? I was supposed to be stable. A killer of kings. A stealer of treasures. But then why did I feel like this? After I quickly regained my composure, I could only manage to wink playfully and duck out of view. I backed up and leaned against another Matoran hut, Head of Aritus clenched in my fist. I panted for a few moments, stunned by how quickly the theft had occurred and how the Toa had seen me, but I quickly gathered my wits. What was Korym doing in this tiny village? Shouldn’t a Toa like him be out doing something... “''"heroic''”? I noticed that the Toa had come out of Arkeus’s dwelling. I needed answers. And company. Korym, I realized suddenly, was my opportunity at finding both. Maybe that was the reason I felt so strange? I decided that getting Korym on my side would be easy... easy as it was to crush Korlok. I crossed my right leg over my left, and arched my back out from the wall so that only my shoulders rested against it. I swung my tail between my legs, and tossed the Head up and down, but very subtly, enough to catch attention but not so much as to look foolish. Korym looked surprised I was still there. And I was worried that I was falling in love with a Toa, I laughed in my head. Loneliness is really my issue. I don’t think I’ve heard the sound of my own voice in over a week. “You!” he exclaimed. His voice was deep, but had a certain immaturity to it... he sounded both young and inexperienced. “Yes, Toa Korym?” I asked in a voice deeper than my normal one, playing with the fact that I had learned his name. “Return that treasure to its' owner!” stuttered Korym, “What are you doing, teasing a Toa like that?” He uttered the word “Toa” as if it was something to be feared. What a joke. “What does it look like?” I said, “I’m teasing a Toa, that’s what.” The Toa looked confused. He had obviously never met someone like me before. None-the-less, he continued his forced act of heroism. I could easily tell that he didn’t care about the Head. Who would? It was just some piece of rock lost in the desert, valuable or not. At least Korym didn’t believe in what he was saying. I would have shrugged off the thought of keeping him as company right then had he been speaking with “''conviction''”. “If you don’t unhand that... tha—” Korym was fighting a lost battle. “You Toa are all the same, Korym,” I said, going in for the final blow, “Who ever told you I needed this any less than that Matoran in there? All it was doing was sitting on a shelf. Sure, I stole it because it’s pretty but that’s beside the point. The point is, I’m really quite poor and can’t take care of myself. I’m just looking for a couple widgets to keep myself alive off of, don’t you care about a poor little Skakdi like me?” “The point is,” Korym stuttered hopelessly, “Stealing is... is... wrong. With talent like that, you could be helping others out!” This actually made me laugh out loud. “So full of morals!” I laughed again. “I like you, Korym. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you the Head if you stick around with me for a bit.” The Toa looked both startled and confused. I had caught him off-guard. “Wait... I don’t understand.” “You heard me right,” I said, “Come with me for... a week, two weeks. Even Skakdi need some company. My name is Ethrykk, by the way. Two k’s.” Korym paused. For a moment, I thought he was actually going to refuse. But somehow, deep inside of me, I knew that he wouldn’t. “All right, Ethrykk,” he said, “Deal.” And that’s how it all began. This is my story. I am Ethrykk, ruiner of kings. I am Ethrykk, pyromaniac of souls. I am Ethrykk, thief of jewels. And he was Korym, thief of my heart. Without seeing any of the future, without knowing the love and betrayal and the bitterness and the longing that it would cause, I weighed the ruby Kaukau in my hand, thinking that Korym would make easy company for a couple of days. I smiled broadly, and tossed him the red stone. Characters *Ethrykk *Korlok (Mentioned Only) *Stor (Mentioned Only) *Korym *Aritus (Mentioned Only) *Arkeus Trivia *This Lost Tale is actually the combined prologue and first chapter of the canceled fourth book of the Early Sunsets Arc that was to be entitled "Lazuli: Ethrykk's Memoirs", a compilation of the events from Fog and Early Sunsets as seen through Ethrykk's eyes. External Links *Cœur Du Voleur: Ethrykk's Confession Category:Short Stories Category:Cap'n K